Not This Way Slash Edition
by WritinginCT
Summary: Gibbs and Tony's fledgling relationship survived the arrival of a pregnant ex of his, but will it be strong enough to survive the ultimate tragedy and its fallout? Gibbs/Tony, Season 5 spoilers, secondary character death, also see authors note!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Not This Way – Slash edition  
Author: CJ aka WritinginCT  
Fandom: NCIS  
Pairing: Gibbs/Tony  
Rating: FR13  
Warnings: Season 5 Spoilers, Secondary Character Death  
Categories: Drama, Angst, Romance  
Disclaimer: I don't own the recognizable characters I'm just inspired by them. Hopefully they've had fun playing in my sandbox.  
Note: I had originally conceived this story plot with a Gibbs/Tony pairing in mind, but I decided to convert it to a Gibbs/Ziva pairing for the "And Baby Makes Three" Challenge on the NFA (no slash requested), but KaylaShay nudged (read prodded, poked and fed the bunny) for the slash version. So I'm going to write the two stories in parallel and enter the slash version in the "Slashed Open" Challenge on the NFA.  
Summary: Gibbs and Tony's fledgling relationship survived the arrival of a pregnant ex of his, but will it be strong enough to survive the ultimate tragedy and its fallout?  
Status: WIP

* * *

Gibbs was making a sandwich in the kitchen, it was his kind of weekend. His team wasn't on call, the weather was pleasant, and he was just enjoying puttering around the house and the yard, doing all those little things that always seemed to need doing. And with a goofy little grin he also thought about fact that he had someone coming over later to cook him dinner and they had both been dropping enough subtle hints about it to know that dinner was going to lead to midnight snacks and breakfast.

He had just taken a bite when there was a soft knock on the door, he opened it to see a familiar red-head standing there. Stephanie. And then it hit him, it was an obviously _pregnant_ Stephanie. He almost choked on the bite of sandwich he was still chewing.

All thoughts of a normal greeting went out the window as he swallowed quickly and the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, "You're pregnant?"

She rolled her eyes and said with a little sarcasm, "I never could get anything past you, Jethro. May I come in?"

He stepped back and gestured for her to come inside, forgetting all about the sandwich in his hand.

When they stood for what seemed like forever there in his living room toe to toe, not saying a word, Stephanie finally broke the silence and pointed to his sandwich, "Got another one of those?"

Gibbs simply thrust the one he was holding at her only to pull it back at the last second, "Forget it, this one has mustard on it, you hate mustard. C'mon." He turned and stalked off to the kitchen.

He found a plate for his own, then started making her a sandwich. Stephanie could see something bubbling beneath the surface as she watched him, and as he efficiently built and cut her sandwich he asked quietly, "Does he know?"

He handed her the plate and their eyes met as she said the words his gut told him were coming, "It's not Eric's baby, Jethro. It's yours."

* * *

It had been one night, shortly after she moved to Philadelphia, well over six months ago. He and Hollis had gone their separate ways and Stephanie called him to give him her new address and phone number. She had thrown out very casually that her parents would love to see him if he ever wanted to come for a visit. He had stewed about it in his normal brooding way but found himself in Philadelphia his next free weekend. Stephanie was the one ex-wife he felt badly about how things had ended. And he had gotten on well with her family.

They were all delighted to see him, and Stephanie's mother cooked all of his favorites, and the wine flowed at dinner. Gibbs thoroughly enjoyed himself, and he found himself walking the few blocks to Stephanie's new apartment with her arm looped around his, ostensibly to crash in her guest room. It was nice, and it was familiar. They had settled on her couch with a nightcap and some of her old photo albums and reminisced about the past. They were both so loose and so relaxed, and their teasing and laughter reminded them both of a time so long ago, when they had first fallen for each other. The time before all the hateful things were said and done. Neither would ever be able to recall who moved first, but they would remember the passion of the kiss. And it awoke all those things inside them that had drawn them together in that lifetime ago.

They made love. And it was everything they remembered. Their chemistry in the bedroom had never been the issue in their marriage. And as they lay there wrapped around each other, they knew that although it had been great and wonderful, that it was a goodbye, a gentle send off to their past.

When he left the next day she had told him to take care of himself, and he told her to call him if she needed anything. And he hadn't heard from her since.

* * *

"Why did you wait to tell me?" he asked in that same quiet way.

She picked up a half of her sandwich and replied, "I really thought it was Eric's, and, well, you and I were only together that one night and I just didn't..." she closed her eyes and took a breath, "I just didn't think it was yours. We tried the whole time we were married, Jethro, and I never got pregnant. Anyway, I, ah, told Eric and he insisted on a paternity test. We just got the results back a couple of days ago, and he's not the father and that can only mean one thing. And I don't know whether to laugh or cry about it, Jethro. And I don't know what to do."

Gibbs was staring at some random point on the counter trying to let it sink in, a baby, his baby. He was going to be a father again. A faint ghost of a smile spread across his face and a quiet little chuckle erupted that he just couldn't contain.

He met her eyes once again, and could see the tension and apprehension in them, her fear that he would reject her and the baby evident in them. His eyes softened and he pulled her into his arms and as he felt her crying in relief against him, he kissed the top of her head and promised, "We'll figure it out together, Steph. You and me."

* * *

Tony opened his front door, knowing he did not need to knock. He dropped the grocery bags he was carrying in the kitchen and headed downstairs, sure that he would find Gibbs working on the boat.

He was downstairs alright, but the only thing he was working on from the look of it was a good drunk. He was sitting on the concrete floor leaning up against his workbench, his knees bent in front of him. He had an almost empty bottle of bourbon next to him, a bottle Tony knew was full two day ago. Gibbs' eyes met his and the red rimmed eyes Tony saw looking back at him let him know something significant had happened since he had spoken with Gibbs that morning. Gibbs gave him a sad little smile, and it worried him. Tony had never seen him like this.

Tony went and sat cross legged next to Gibbs and without hesitation put a hand on his knee and rubbed gently, "Hi."

"Hi."

Tony glanced down and saw a photo in Gibbs' hand, a photo of his first wife Shannon in a hospital gown holding a newborn Kelly. Tony tried to quickly go through the dates in his head from Gibbs' file to see if today was something significant that he had missed, it wasn't. It made no sense, and the confusion showed on Tony's face.

Gibbs had seen him look at the picture and Tony's confusion. He handed Tony the bottle of bourbon, "I need to tell you something, but trust me, you need some of this first."

Tony opened the bottle and took a healthy swig. The taste of the bourbon bringing back a memory of the first time he had bourbon in this basement, three weeks ago.

* * *

The whole witch hunt instigated by an angry Jeanne had a dramatic effect on Tony, and Gibbs had seen it, and tried to talk Tony down from the ledge of guilt that he was walking to no avail. And when the case was _finally_ over and done with and Tony walked out of the office a free and clear man, Gibbs had been waiting for him, leaning casually against his car.

He dragged Tony back to his house after picking up some Chinese food and put him to work on the boat. He taught Tony patiently how to use the tools and do what needed doing. And when they finished off the last of his beer, Gibbs found them each a relatively clean jar that he had dumped the screws out of and poured them each a healthy dose of an eighteen year old bourbon. It was smooth going down and Tony soon felt its warmth spreading through him. Gibbs had been in a light and playful mood the entire evening, as if he knew that that was what Tony needed. Tony had finished his drink and looked up to see Gibbs staring at him intently, a look he couldn't translate in his eyes. Gibbs had reached over and lightly brushed off a little wood shaving that he didn't know was on his cheek. His hand had then lingered, his thumb stroking gently across Tony's skin. And in the next heartbeat, Gibbs had leaned in and kissed him gently. The chemistry between them was something that they had never expected, although they had known its potential had been there all along. They hadn't made love that night, deciding that going slower was what they both wanted, it would be the first time either of them had a male lover and they were both a little nervous.

They had actually started _dating._ Secretly of course, but dating none the less. And going slower had been working well for them, and tonight was supposed to be their first night together.

Supposed to be. When Gibbs told Tony about Stephanie in broken, halting words, Tony felt his world crumbling. And he wondered if it were divine intervention somehow that they hadn't moved past the point of no return in their relationship, maybe they weren't supposed to. Tony envisioned Gibbs remarrying Stephanie and having everything he ever wanted, a child, a family.

Tony was lost in his own thoughts and it wasn't until he felt Gibbs' finger tracing his hand that was still resting on Gibbs' knee, that Tony met his eyes and heard what Gibbs was trying to say, "I understand if this is going to be too much, if you wanna get the heck out of Dodge..."

He interrupted on auto pilot to ramble, "Get the heck out of Dodge? You're quoting Gunsmoke? Now?"

"I forgot, you've probably got it on dvd, huh? What I mean is, I know this isn't what you bargained for and if you want to walk away I understand. But I..." he closed his eyes as his words dropped off.

"You what, Jethro?"

That sad little smile was back on his face as his eyes met Tony's, "I don't want to lose you."

Tony clambered to his knees and took Gibbs' face in his hands and kissed him gently, and whispered, "I am not going anywhere."

Gibbs wrapped his arms around Tony and squeezed tightly, and when he finally let him go he asked sheepishly, "Still gonna cook me dinner?"

And after a leisurely prepared pasta dinner and a very strong pot of coffee, Gibbs was much more himself. And he took Tony upstairs and proved to him that he was the one he wanted, proved it to Tony with his hands and his mouth and his body, and especially with his arms as he held him protectively as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

The next couple of weeks were busy. Stephanie rented a house a few blocks away from Gibbs', close enough that if she needed him, he could be there quickly, but not so close as to be on top of each other. He told her he was seeing someone, not who, but that it was a serious relationship. He had wanted that clear from the beginning, no surprises, no expectations. Stephanie understood, she hadn't come back to Washington to force fit herself back in his life, and in truth she was amazed at how supportive and there for her he was actually being. But this other woman had her a little curious, Jethro was being extremely possessive and protective about this new relationship, something unusual for him and it made her wonder.

He and Tony had settled into almost an domestic bliss, or as close to one as the two of them would ever get. They were both very passionate people, and strong, and neither had the time or inclination for the games so many people played in relationships. They teased, they laughed, they supported each other, and they also argued the paint off the walls on a couple of occasions. But they kept the fight about the issue at hand and didn't make it personal and later on when their tempers had cooled, the making up was as scorching as the argument had been.

The only people outside of Tony at the office to know about the baby were Ducky and Jenny. Ducky was one of his oldest friends, and was also someone he could ask any and all of the medical questions about Stephanie's pregnancy that worried him. Ducky was thrilled for Jethro, and he wondered if Stephanie and the baby were the cause of the more relaxed Gibbs they were seeing at the office lately, little did Ducky know, that that was more Tony's doing than Stephanie's. Jenny he had to tell as his boss, because he was going to need paternity leave, and some hours here and there for doctor visits. On the surface she was happy for him, knowing how much he loved children, but he could also see the hurt in her eyes that it wasn't her.

Stephanie had had other ultrasounds in her pregnancy back in Philadelphia, and they showed all was well with her and the baby, but she hadn't wanted to know the sex of the baby. The first ultrasound that Gibbs accompanied her to at the new obstetrician's office had the doctor asking if they wanted to know. It took Stephanie giving his arm a shake to pull his attention away from the little screen showing the grainy picture of the baby, he had missed out on all this stuff with Kelly because he had been deployed and he was just amazed. Stephanie laughed at his pole axed look then repeated what the doctor asked. Gibbs honestly didn't care one way or another if it were a girl or a boy, he just wanted a healthy baby. They decided they wanted to be surprised and the doctor chuckled to herself, wondering which one of the two would be calling her office first to renege on that. She printed out a couple of snapshots from the ultrasound and as Stephanie wiped at the gel on her extended abdomen, she just shook her head at the sight of the big tough Marine with what she would have sworn was a tear threatening to fall as he looked at the little pictures in awe.

When he had dropped Stephanie off at her home and headed back into the office, his normal all-business face was back in place. Or at least it was until Tony met his eyes from his desk. Tony knew about the appointment and wanted to know how it went, and if everything were okay with both Stephanie and the baby. With a little jerk of his head they made their way to the elevator. Gibbs flipped his favorite switch and turned to Tony with an enormous smile on his face as he pulled out the ultrasound photo. As he looked at the photo it all became very real for Tony, Gibbs was going to be a father again, there was going to be a little person in his life, in his heart. And any lingering doubt Tony might have been feeling about his place in Gibbs' life was blown away when Gibbs tucked a finger under his chin and exuberantly claimed his mouth. The kiss also blew away a rule they had set for themselves when they first started seeing each other, that there wouldn't be any inappropriate contact while they were on the job. But as he kissed him back, Tony saw the happiness in his eyes, as if everything in Gibbs' life had finally fallen into place.

* * *

Stephanie found out about Gibbs and Tony as she entered her eighth month. Three weeks prior Gibbs had helped her paint and put together the nursery and she found herself bored out her mind without much to do. She became a regular customer at the neighborhood video store and overdosed on romantic comedies and suspense thrillers. She had wandered into the television series on dvd section, a little wistfully, her sister was always raving about how much fun it was to be able to rewatch old t.v. shows from their younger days. She saw a couple that made her smile and think of times long since past. Stephanie turned to leave the aisle when she saw someone that was familiar at the other end. Tony. She approached and said hello. To say that Tony was surprised would have been an understatement, and in his shock he dropped one of the dvd's he was holding, a black and white World War II movie he had picked out because Gibbs had mentioned it was an old favorite and he wouldn't mind watching it again in a casual conversation weeks ago.

"Hello, Ms. Flynn." Tony managed to get out as he ungracefully tried to pick up the dvd he dropped while not losing the rest of them.

Stephanie smiled, "Please call me Stephanie. I wasn't sure you would remember me."

Still rather in shock, Tony could only think to mumble, "I rarely forget people, it's part of my job."

Stephanie chuckled, "Yeah, I guess it would be." She motioned to the dvds in Tony's hands, "You like old movies?"

"Oh, these? Yeah. Well, actually, movies in general."

"Me too, but I think spy movies are my favorites though." Stephanie looked to the dvd Tony had picked up off the floor, "That's a good one." she didn't mention that it was one of Jethro's favorites, and she remembered the enjoyment that had been in his eyes as they had watched it years ago, eyes she hoped that the baby inherited, "have you seen it?"

Tony looked down at the dvd with a little grin, "No, actually a, ah... friend, mentioned wanting to see it."

Stephanie caught the slight hesitation, and realized that Tony's movie watching companion was a little more than a friend. But she let it go.

Having exhausted the conversation, they had said their goodbyes. But Stephanie had found herself a couple of customers behind him in line and overheard the clerk say to him, "Your new Magnum, P.I. set finally came in."

Tony replied, "Excellent, I've been waiting for that backorder forever."

Stephanie hadn't thought about the encounter until she knocked at Gibbs door to give him the notarized power of attorney papers that they had both decided that he needed. He invited her into the living room and as she glanced around, she saw an obviously new television and dvd player with that old favorite WWII movie of his paused on the screen. Jethro hadn't had either the television or the dvd player when she was in the house last. Then she noticed both the case for the old WWII movie and a box set of Magnum, P.I. sitting on the bookshelf near the television. It only took a moment for it to all come together in her mind. His secrecy about his relationship, Tony's hesitancy at the video store and why although Tony was surprised to see her, he wasn't surprised to see that Stephanie was pregnant. And she flashed back to Moscow and an old memory, and it all completely fell into place for her.

She smirked, imitating one of his best "I know something you don't" looks and teased, "Leroy Jethro Gibbs, you have some explaining to do, mister."

When he looked at her in confusion he said, "What did I do now?"

She reached up and brushed non-existent lint off his shoulder, "Tony is not going to be very happy you're watching that without him."

* * *

tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Warning for character death and significant angst in this section

* * *

Gibbs didn't know what to say, or how she knew, and he just stood there with a deer in the headlights look on his face.

Stephanie couldn't contain her mirth and she laughed, then took pity on him. "I met up with Tony at the video store, when he was buying those," she gestured towards the bookshelf.

Gibbs had dropped his eyes, not quite sure how to explain this all away. "Steph..."

"Jethro, I know you too well. So don't try and give me some lame story. Tony is the person you've been seeing, isn't he?"

He sighed and looked up, "Yeah, we started a few weeks before you came back to town."

"Is it serious?" she asked, wanting a real answer.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good." she said with approval.

Approval which shocked him, "Good?"

Her face took on a gentle look and said, "Jethro, I have never seen you happier. Ever. And I know at least half of it is the baby, but I'd be willing to bet that Tony is the other half."

He tugged absently on his ear, "You don't seem surprised."

"I haven't forgotten Yuri. Tony reminds me of him."

A bolt of pain went through Gibbs at the mention of the name, and he flashed back to Moscow.

* * *

Yuri Nazarov was a handsome Russian spy, or a "broker of information" as he called himself, and one with a high set of morals. And he and Gibbs had worked well together during Gibbs' tenure in Moscow. The two men had much in common, similar senses of honor and duty, same short tempers and same senses of humor, although Yuri was a little more lighthearted than Gibbs, and he would quip little jokes at the most inappropriate times, just to make Gibbs smile. There was an almost tangible attraction between the two, one that they never acknowledged or explored.

But big things were afoot in Moscow, and Yuri knew too much. And although he tried, Gibbs couldn't protect him. The night before he was killed Yuri visited Gibbs. They went out into the garage with a bottle of vodka and talked about nonsensical things, both knowing that the hit on Yuri was coming, they just didn't know when, and there was just no way of extracting him from Moscow. The vodka made them loose, and the walls of their self-imposed inhibitions were tumbling. And try as he might, Gibbs couldn't remember who made the first move, but he remembered vividly the passion in the kiss, and the feel of Yuri's solid body against his. When the kiss ended, the tears had started, tears Gibbs had never felt ashamed of crying. They had simply clung to each other, each wrapped in strong arms. They never knew that Stephanie had stuck her head in the garage to ask them if they wanted something to eat, and saw that tearful embrace. She had simply left them alone, and never mentioned it. And the next day Yuri was dead. And a piece of Jethro died with him. She never asked, and he certainly never told her, but she suspected that Jethro had something to do with the three Russians that ended up dead with sniper bullets in their brains in the days following Yuri's murder.

Those events had been the beginning of the end of their stay in Moscow, and sadly, the beginning of the end of their marriage as well.

* * *

Gibbs and Stephanie did something that if they had done it years ago might have saved their marriage, they talked. Talked about Yuri and Moscow, and Tony and how the three of them fit together in the baby's life. And at her insistence he flipped open his cell phone and called Tony, and as Stephanie listened to the one sided conversation she wondered with a grin what Tony's expression was on the other end, "Still picking up steaks for dinner?" "Better make it three, Stephanie's here," "We all need to talk." "Yeah, she knows." Jethro laughed, "Your dvds gave it away." "See you in a while."

He turned to Stephanie with a smirk, "I think we just gave him his first gray hair."

Dinner went well once Tony realized that Stephanie _really_ was okay with their relationship. And over the course of the next couple of weeks he and Stephanie got to know each other better. The beginnings of their own friendship starting when Tony had shown up at her house with a big box of dvds, he had gone through his collection and put together a bunch he thought she might like. She had made him dinner and they watched one of his favorite comedies, and as they laughed together she could see what attracted Jethro to Tony, he was a warm and fun person, and he reminded her of Yuri, and of a younger Jethro. Tony also popped in and took her out, just for ice cream or a movie, things to get her out of the house a little. He had picked up on the fact that she was a little lonely and tried in small ways to alleviate it. Their friendship also seemed to have a positive effect on Jethro, he was even more relaxed at home, and he was also somewhat relieved that there was someone else that Stephanie could call in an emergency. They were a family, not necessarily a run of the mill family, but a family none the less.

* * *

As her due date grew closer both Gibbs and Tony started almost obsessively checking their cell phones, making sure they had a signal and no missed calls from Stephanie. They were both waiting for that call in the middle of the night, the one that told them that their little one was ready to make his or her grand appearance. That was not the phone call they received.

Tony and Gibbs had just fallen into bed after a shower, when Gibbs' cell phone on the nightstand rang, he took one look at the caller id and sat straight up, Stephanie. He flipped it open quickly, "Hey."

All he heard her say before he heard the phone on the other end hit the floor was, "Jethro, something's wrong..."

"STEPHANIE," he shouted into his cell, but all he could hear was her moaning in the background. He said quickly to Tony, "Call an ambulance," as he threw on his pants, his cell still in his ear, "Steph, I'm coming, I'm on my way, stay on the phone. I'm coming."

* * *

No matter how fast he tried to move, or get the paramedics to move, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. He and Tony had found her lying on the kitchen floor, deep in shock and unresponsive. The paramedics arrived right behind them. And then they were somehow all at the emergency room, and the doctors were cutting off her t-shirt and slapping monitor leads all over her, the words "possible placental abruption" thrown around repeatedly.

One of the monitors started blaring, showing a flat line on her heart rate, and the doctor shouted, "We're losing her, we need to do a c-section now."

It had taken two nurses and Tony's firm hand around him to get Gibbs out of the room. He was in his own kind shock, this just couldn't be happening, he couldn't loose another child, another family.

Jethro was not a religious man, his faith something private, just between him and his maker. But he never prayed harder in his life than he did in those horrifying, long minutes out in the hallway.

As the minutes ticked by, Tony's hand on his shoulder the only thing keeping him from losing it altogether. And then they heard it, the strong cry of a baby, and relief washed over both of them and he sent up a silent prayer of thanks. Their relief was short lived, however, as the doctor came out into the hallway, his scrubs splattered with blood, Stephanie's blood, his expression grave.

"It was a placental abruption, basically the placenta detached from the wall of the uterus. We did a cesarean section and delivered the baby. He's doing well and you can see him soon. But I am sorry, we lost his mother. She had lost too much blood too quickly and there was just nothing we could do. I am so sorry, we did everything we could."

Tony saw the tears in Gibbs eyes through his own blurry vision, and the sad, little smile as Gibbs whispered, "It's a boy?"

The doctor nodded and as if to affirm his presence in the world, they heard the baby let out another good howl in the other room. The doctor told them that given that the baby was near full term that there shouldn't be any issues that normally plague premature births. He had also been monitored carefully before the delivery and that he had not shown any significant signs of stress, all of which were good signs.

Gibbs nodded through it all, and as the doctor turned to go check on the baby he heard Gibbs ask quietly, "Can I see Stephanie?"

The doctor escorted him to her bedside and had the nurses in the room excuse them, and then he left Gibbs alone with her. Jethro reached down and smoothed her hair, hair that he had spent many nights playing with as she laid on his chest. His thumb ran over her lips, and he remembered their first kiss, and their last. He cupped her cheek and and the tears flowed down his face he whispered to her, "It's a boy, Steph. We have a son. That's him hollering in the other room. Wonder which one of us he gets that from, huh?" The tightness in his chest was making it hard for him to breath, and he felt the sobs threatening to start, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. It wasn't supposed to be like this." He leaned down and kissed her lightly, "I love you, Stephanie." He could have made her promises to love and raise their son, but those were promises that _never_ had to be verbalized.

Jethro walked back out into the hallway a broken man, his pain and grief evident in his every move. His eyes met Tony's and he let Tony's arms wrap around him and hold him tight as he fought his emotions. He didn't care who saw them, he needed to feel Tony's heart beating against his, needed the security he found in Tony's embrace.

He croaked out against Tony's neck, "She's gone, Tony."

Tony's hand found its way to cradle Gibbs' head and he whispered through his own tears, "I know."

"What are we going to do?"

Tony pulled back a bit and took Jethro's face in his hands and meeting his eyes said very seriously, "Raise your son, and make sure he knows what a beautiful and amazing woman his mother was."

Gibbs nodded numbly. And a nurse waving caught Tony's attention, they could see the baby.

* * *

tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

As they entered the room, both men tried not to think about the fact that Stephanie was lying in the adjoining room. There were a couple of nurses and a middle aged woman in a white lab coat gathered around a clear acrylic bassinet that held a very unhappy baby who was shrilly vocalizing his displeasure at being poked and prodded.

Gibbs looked at his son in awe, his feet frozen to the floor. There was a little thatch of reddish brown hair and he wondered if his son was going to be a carrot top like his mother. Tony gave him a little nudge from behind making him step closer.

The doctor looked up and smiled gently, "You're the father?"

He simply nodded in response and the doctor introduced herself, "I'm Doctor Anderson the on-call pediatrician. Your son is doing very well. He's not very happy with us at the moment, but he's doing just fine. He was monitored carefully, and though his oxygen saturation level was a little low at delivery it was well within the safe zone and right now it's perfect. He's got all his fingers and all his toes, and as you can hear, a good healthy set of lungs. I want to keep him here for a couple of days just to monitor him." She paused sadly, and continued with a compassionate tone, "And I know you've probably got some arrangements to make at home. I'm very sorry for your loss."

She efficiently wrapped the baby up in the soft blanket he was lying on and asked gently, "Would you like to hold him?"

Gibbs stared at the baby in her hands, half afraid to touch him, as if somehow he would also be ripped away from Gibbs like so many others had been.

Tony could see the hesitancy in Gibbs and he was well versed enough in reading Gibbs' emotions to know where it was coming from, so he took action. He grabbed the hard plastic chair from the corner and set it down behind Gibbs and with a little squeeze to Gibbs shoulder he ordered lightly, "Sit."

And surprisingly, Gibbs did just that. And with sure hands that were in complete opposite to the nervousness he felt to his core, Gibbs took his squalling son from the doctor. He couldn't help but smirk a little at the baby's irritated expression, it was pure Stephanie, and as he gently ran a calloused finger over the baby's cheek he chided, "Shush, what's all this racket about, huh?"

And when that didn't work, he expertly tucked the baby up near his neck and gently patted him, and to the relief of everyone's ears in the room, the baby quieted down almost instantly.

Gibbs felt Tony standing behind him, his hand still on Gibbs' shoulder, it was comforting and reassuring. And he heard Tony say, "Since I'm pretty sure he'll get beaten up a lot in school if we keep calling him "the baby", what did you two decide to name him?"

Gibbs swallowed hard, trying not to picture Stephanie's luminescent smile as they had bickered over names, it had been fun and playful and had reminded him of why he had fallen for her all those years ago. But in the end they had actually agreed on a pair of names, one for a girl, one for a boy, since they still didn't know the sex of the baby. And they had kept the names a secret just between the two of them, not even telling Tony.

He looked up at Tony with a wane little smile and replied, "Donald Jethro Gibbs."

Tony smiled widely, "After Ducky?"

Gibbs nodded, "Yeah, he introduced us you know."

"Yeah, I had heard that, he's gonna be thrilled."

Gibbs gently kissed the baby's temple and smiled again, "But you know, knowing your mom, I bet she would have ended up calling you DJ."

He settled the baby back down in the crook of his arm and just looked at him, his mind spinning as he tried to think about all the things he needed to do all at once.

Tony stepped around to the front of him and crouched down to get an up close view of the littlest Gibbs. He smiled and reached out hesitantly to touch the baby's little hand that he had snuck out of his blanket, marveling at how small his little fingers actually were. Tony's experience with babies in general was limited, and he had absolutely none with newborns, and he was just amazed.

Gibbs took in the awed expression on Tony's face and smiled, he'd almost forgotten how new all of this actually was to Tony and he said, "Your turn. Sit," as he stood up.

Tony's eyes flashed in panic, "What? Oh, no, really, I'm good just doing the whole watching thing, Gibbs, really I am."

Gibbs couldn't help but chuckle and said again, "Sit."

And with a playful grimace, Tony did just that, and Gibbs carefully placed the baby in Tony's arms.

Gibbs' protective and possessive streak about the baby had been apparent about thirty seconds after Stephanie had told him it was his baby. And Gibbs could almost see it flare up in Tony right before his eyes as the baby settled into Tony's arms without a peep. Little DJ had no way of knowing, but even though he might have lost his mother, he still had two people that would love and cherish him, and two people that would protect him, no matter what the cost.

Doctor Anderson took in the interaction between the two and realized that their relationship was a lot more than met the eye. And she could see that there was genuine affection between them, it was evident in all of their actions, and seeing that lessened the sting of the loss of the baby's mother just a little in her eyes.

A few minutes later, she interrupted them so that they could bring DJ up and get him settled in the pediatric ward. Gibbs nodded and he took the baby from Tony and placed him safely in the bassinet for his trip up in the elevator. He turned to Tony, "Can you go with him? I need to call Stephanie's sister."

Tony let out a sigh, "Yeah. Probably should call Ducky, too."

"Yeah," Gibbs replied sadly. Tony gave his bicep a quick squeeze before he left to follow Dr. Anderson and crew upstairs.

Gibbs went outside, wanting to be in the fresh air while he made the calls. He took a deep breath and flipped his phone open. He hit a speed dial and when the line picked up he said, "Shelly? It's Jethro..."

* * *

tbc...


End file.
